The past few weeks have been great for splashes of wildflower colour all over the reserve. Switch off for a few days and everything changes so quickly! We’ve got plenty of common ragwort sprouting along Redshale road with its yellow clump of daisy-like flowerheads. There are loads of clusters of ribbed melilot, a tall yellow vetch-like plant and self-heal, a small purple circular plant, both further along Redshale road near the area of bare ground. One other tall purple-pink plant that has been sprouting around the discovery trail this week is rosebay willowherb... I always associate seeing these alongside the train tracks! Fluffy white meadowsweet is smelling lovely on the Discovery Trail with loads of purple hedge woundwort popping out in above the undergrowth. Common centaury is also looking very pretty and flowering along Redshale road with loads of common birds-foot trefoil also flowering at the minute. I used to call these mini-broom flowers as they do look very similar to the yellow gorse or broom flowers. Lovely sweet smelling honeysuckle is definitely out in force now and is attracting loads of lovely fresh-faced butterflies!
Meadowsweet - Andy Hay (RSPB-images)
Whilst walking through the reserve early this morning, the definite highlights were the butterflies! Walking through Village Bay field we firstly became surrounded with fluttery ringlet butterflies, at Charlie’s hide some second brood green-veined white butterflies were busy amongst the reeds and under the silver birch trees past cut lane speckled woods and meadow browns were plentiful. One comma flew past us as we walked along Redshale road before landing amongst some hawthorn, quickly we noticed there was not one but five commas on the same tree and a gatekeeper resting on some brambles just below! It is such a great time to get to know your butterflies this time of year, they are literally everywhere and the colours are very prominent.
A pair of commas
For the past two days the glossy ibis has been showing off at Lin Dike hide, we’ve had some great very close up pictures of the celebrity ibis, so let’s hope he sticks around a bit longer. Our avocet parents and two chicks are still about at Pickup hide looking very well, we are waiting for the time when the chicks are ready to fly... hopefully they can do it! Sand martin chicks are starting to fledge now from the wall some of them having an easier time than other’s with the many predatory birds hanging about with a watchful eye. We had about 40 black-tailed godwits flying eastward over the reserve on Saturday and have had a number of other waders including three redshanks at Spoonbill flash and a green sandpiper at Pickup hide. Also keep your eyes out for ruby tailed and ichneumon wasps amongst the deadwood along the Discovery trail.
Black-tailed godwits – Chris Gomersall (RSPB-images)